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Lake Forest is a city located in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 19,367. The city is along the shore of Lake Michigan, and is a part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the North Shore. Lake Forest was founded with Lake Forest College and was laid out as a town in 1857, a stop for travelers making their way south to Chicago. The Lake Forest City Hall, designed by Charles Sumner Frost, was completed in 1898. It originally housed the fire department, the Lake Forest Library, and city offices. A Preservation Foundation Guide to National Register Properties, Lake Forest, Illinois. Second ed. Lake Forest, IL: The Lake Forest Foundation for Historic Preservation, 1994, p. 31.
As Lake Forest was first developed in 1857, the planners laid roads that would provide limited access to the city in an effort to prevent outside traffic and isolate the tranquil settlement from neighboring areas. Though the town is considerably more accessible today, due in part to the extensive new construction taking place further west, the much smaller neighborhood of eastern Lake Forest, near the coast of Lake Michigan, remains relatively secluded. It is one of the most scenic, historical, and architecturally significant suburbs of Chicago. These neighborhoods include estates and homes designed by distinguished architects such as Howard Van Doren Shaw, David Adler, Frank Lloyd Wright, Arthur Heun, Jerome Cerny, Henry Ives Cobb, and modernist George Fred Keck, among others. Landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Jens Jensen also designed projects in Lake Forest. Market Square, designed by Howard Van Doren Shaw, was completed in 1916 as a commercial center for Lake Forest.
Lake Forest had an African-American community from very early on in its history, drawn to employment opportunities on the estates and educational institutions in the late 19th century. Unlike other communities in the area, Lake Forest had many residents who were associated with the Abolitionist movement. Lake Forest's first mayor and a founder of Lake Forest College, Sylvester Lind, was a major figure on the Underground Railroad, and was known to help escaped slaves settle in Lake Forest. Roxana Beecher, niece of abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, taught integrated school in Lake Forest. A prominent early Lake Forest businessman was Samuel Dent, an escaped slave and Union veteran who ran a livery stable. A local jazz band was named in Dent's memory. Another black entrepreneur was Julian Matthews, who ran a bakery, restaurant, and ice cream parlor with his wife Octavia. The second police officer hired in 1900 in Lake Forest was a black man from Kentucky, Walker Sales, who was hired in 1900 and stayed on for nearly 20 years. Members of this African-American community established the African Methodist Episcopal Church as of 1866, and it stood at what is now the corner of Maplewood and Washington Road. By 1900, another black church, the First Baptist Church of Lake Forest, had opened and is still active. By the 1980s, increased housing prices had encouraged some older black residents to sell their properties lucratively, but others stayed in the community. Lake Forest also had a small community of Jews, typified by wealthy socialites such as Albert Lasker and David Adler.
The secluded style of Lake Forest was intended as a form of protection. According to the president of the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Historical Society, the captains of industry and upper-class elite who first settled in Lake Forest sought a refuge from late 19th and early 20th-century Chicago. In their view, the city was overrun with immigrants from southern and eastern Europe who had dangerous socialist ideas and indulged in excessive alcoholic consumption.
Country clubs became important centers of social activity in Lake Forest's early decades. The Onwentsia Club was, in the words of one writer, "the premiere social and sporting club in the Midwest".
One of Lake Forest's most notable features is its virgin and other . In 1967, a group of 12 long-time residents of Lake Forest formed a land conservation organization, Lake Forest Open Lands Association. Its express purpose was to purchase or otherwise set aside the rapidly disappearing open spaces in the city, in the interests of preserving animal habitat, restoring , and providing environmental education for the city's children. In the next 38 years, the group managed to acquire more than within the city limits, which now form six nature preserves with of walking trails open to the public.
Preserved in perpetuity are , original pre-1830 prairie, woodland, and savanna, all within the community. The restoration of these lands is celebrated by an annual "Bagpipes and Bonfire" event in September, which started as a community event in which controlled fires were burned to clear underbrush and preserve the savannah. From an early time, the playing of bagpipes has accompanied the community gathering, as the town had numerous Scots-Irish residents in its early years. This has also been an annual fundraising event for Lake Forest Open Lands Association. "Bagpipes & Bonfire" , Lake Forest Open Lands Association
It is home to Gorton Center which originally housed the town's first K-8 school. Gorton is a hub for arts & culture and a multi-faceted community venue. Gorton presents live music, storytelling, children's events, community events and more; has a robust and growing film program; produces and offers classes for youth and adults, including Gorton Drama Studio, theater and acting classes for all ages; houses a children's learning center; houses other nonprofits; provides places for others to rent for their special events and meetings. Designed, built and opened as the Central School in 1901, the original building was designed by James Gamble Rogers and remodeled in 1907 by Howard Van Doren Shaw.
Ragdale, an artists' community and residence, is located in Lake Forest. Formerly Howard Van Doren Shaw's summer retreat and built in 1897, the estate has accommodated notable artist Sylvia Shaw Judson.
In 1992, Lake Forest gained national attention when it attempted to ban the sale of offensive music to anyone under the age of 18. City council members used existing ordinances against obscenity—defined in the codes as "morbid interest in nudity, sex or excretion"—to buttress their campaign. Mayor Charles Clarke stated, "If they sell an obscene tape to somebody underage, we will prosecute." The person who came up most frequently in discussions of obscene content was Ice-T, a rapper who has since also performed as an actor.
Lake Forest has been named a Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation in recognition of its commitment to community forest. As of 2006, Lake Forest had received this national honor for 26 years. The actor Mr. T notably angered the town by cutting down more than 100 oak trees on his estate, in what is now referred to as the "Lake Forest Chain Saw Massacre."
According to the 2010 census, Lake Forest has a total area of , of which (or 99.62%) is land and (or 0.38%) is water.
The headquarters of Fortune 500 companies Tenneco, Brunswick, and Hospira are located in Lake Forest; Akorn, Covered Logistics, Horizon Therapeutics, IDEX Corporation, Packaging Corporation of America, Pactiv, Prestone, and Trustmark also have their headquarters in Lake Forest, while W. W. Grainger and BFG Technologies are located in unincorporated Lake County, near Lake Forest. The Chicago Bears training facility and headquarters, Halas Hall, opened in 1997 in west Lake Forest, and the Chicago Fire now train at the Bears' previous facility located on the campus of Lake Forest.
Lake Forest is the base for Linking Efforts Against Drugs (LEAD), a national organization aimed at discouraging youth from getting involved in drugs. It empowers parents and community members to encourage the drug-free choice.
| 1 | Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital | 1,395 |
| 2 | Pfizer | 700 |
| 3 | Abbott | 826 |
| 4 | Trustmark Insurance Company | 712 |
| 5 | Lake Forest College | 415 |
| 6 | Pactiv | 388 |
| 7 | Lake Forest Elementary School District 67 | 321 |
| 8 | Packaging Corporation of America | 298 |
| 9 | Lake Forest Community High School District 115 | 275 |
| 10 | City of Lake Forest | 210 |
| + Lake Forest city, Illinois – Racial and ethnic composition !Race / Ethnicity ( NH = Non-Hispanic) !Pop 2010 !Pop 2020 !% 2010 !% 2020 | ||||
| White alone (NH) | 17,474 | 16,380 | 90.19% | 84.58% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 196 | 232 | 1.01% | 1.20% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 19 | 17 | 0.10% | 0.09% |
| Asian Americans alone (NH) | 899 | 1,114 | 4.64% | 5.75% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 1 | 3 | 0.01% | 0.02% |
| Some Other Race alone (NH) | 21 | 62 | 0.11% | 0.32% |
| Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH) | 223 | 645 | 1.15% | 3.33% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 542 | 914 | 2.80% | 4.72% |
| Total | 19,375 | 19,367 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the census of 2000, there were 20,059 people, 6,687 households, and 5,329 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 7,001 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.80% White, 1.35% African American, 0.06% Native American, 2.45% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 0.44% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.87% of the population.
There were 6,687 households, out of which 39.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.6% were Marriage living together, 4.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.3% were non-families. Of all households 18.3% Of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the city, 27.5% of the population was under the age of 18, 9.6% were from 18 to 24, 19.7% from 25 to 44, 28.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.6% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.5 males.
According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $150,670, and the median income for a family was more than $200,000. Males had a median income of $100,000+ versus $44,083 for females. The per capita income for the city was $77,092. About 0.15% of families and 0.2% of the population were below the poverty line.
Lake Forest also has another school district, Rondout School District 72, which serves far-eastern parts of Libertyville, and all parts of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff that lie within Libertyville Township. It has one school, Rondout Elementary School, which serves grades K-8. Students attend Libertyville High School after graduating.
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